Second Round Fixtures for 2006 U.S. Open Cup Announced

NewsJun 8, 2006

Full Slate of First Round Games Set for Wednesday, June 14; Four USL First Division Teams Join in Second Round on June 28

CHICAGO (June 8, 2006) – U.S. Soccer announced the second round pairings for the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup today. Four teams from the United Soccer Leagues Second Division and four from the USL First Division will play the winners of the June 14 first round games.

All eight of the second round matches will be played on Wednesday, June 28, and a full schedule is listed below.

The Open Cup qualifying round was played on Wednesday, June 7, with the Des Moines Menace and the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USL’s Premier Developmental League, edging out USASA contenders Allied SC and the Croatian Eagles.

In the first qualifying match, the Cape Cod Crusaders defeated Allied SC, 2-0, in Baltimore, Md., with a goal from Adam Mitchinson in the 30th minute and an own goal in the 60th minute.

The second game of the night saw more goal scoring action as the Des Moines Menace defeated the Croatian Eagles, 4-1, in Waukee, Iowa. Armin Mujdzic opened up the scoring for the Menace in the 22nd minute and Edwin Disang doubled their lead to 2-0 just before the half. Tomas Boltnar made it 3-0 after converting a penalty kick in the 66th minute. The Eagles were also awarded a penalty kick in the 72nd minute, which Jason Willan converted to make the game 3-1. Cody Kother scored the fourth and final goal of the match in stoppage time for the Menace. The match also saw two red cards as Danilo Oliveira was sent off in the 70th minute for Des Moines and Ramon Alvarado followed suit in the 73rd minute for the Eagles.

All 12 MLS teams are part of the 42-team field, with four clubs joining the tournament beginning in the third round on July 12. All eight of the eligible USL First Division teams, six of the nine USL Second Division teams and eight teams from the PDL qualified for the 2005 tournament. Additionally, regional qualifying narrowed down the field of USASA teams to eight.

Geographical pairings and host proposals received from each club determined match-ups, as they will through the quarterfinals of the tournament. Possible pairings for the third round will be announced after the completion of the first round.

At stake in the tournament is $180,000 in prize money broken down as follows: $100,000 to the champion, $50,000 to the runner up and $10,000 to the team which advances deepest in the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.